He attended seminary in Veszprém and later in Fribourg (Switzerland). There, he was ordained by Capuchin Bishop Ernest Louis Joye on April 10, 1943. In 1946, he emigrated to the United States. In 1947, the bishop of Veszprém suspended him and ordered him to return home because he could not account for the collection money, but he requested $1,000 to finance his return trip. On March 13, 1955, he was dismissed from the Diocese of Veszprém and incardinated into the Diocese of Toledo, OH. During his stay in Toledo, he was proven to have committed child molestation, so—in accordance with the customs of the time—he was sent to a psychiatric institution in Canada. A few years later, he returned and settled in California, where he committed similar crimes.